con·clave – noun \kän-klāv\ – gathering or meeting of a group or association
New Mexico Trout’s Conclave is the annual gathering of our membership and guests, and always provides some exceptional talent and a memorable experience for attendees… and this year will be no exception. Through exhibits, displays and excellent lectures, participants will learn new techniques and tips. There will be several fishing related clinics throughout the day including casting (for kids and adults), knot tying and beginning fly tying. As always, there will be chances to win all sorts of great fly fishing gear and goodies with this year’s raffle. A fabulous catered lunch is included in the ticket price for pre-purchased tickets. So come and join us in the fun!
New Mexico Trout will hold it’s annual Conclave on March 22nd 2014, from 9AM to 5PM. It will be held at Sandia Preparatory School on Osuna Road near Edith Blvd. Registration begins at 8:30AM, in the Student Center.
This year our guest speakers will be Ed Engle from Colorado Springs and Tom Knopick from Durango.
Ed Engle got into fly fishing at an early age with a “starter” kit that included a rod, reel, backing, line, and leader. His first fly fishing trips were to the South Platte River, known nationally as a “technical” river where catching trout required small flies and good presentations. He fished (flailed about, as he describes it) on the river for four months before he caught a trout, but by that time he was tying his own flies and learning from more experienced anglers – and he was hooked. The next thing he knew he was working part time for Kent Brekke at the old Angler’s Covey in Colorado Springs, Colorado and writing a fly fishing newspaper column for the Colorado Springs Sun. Before long he was writing magazine stories for most of the fly fishing publications and guiding fly fishers on the South Platte River. After publication of his first book, Fly Fishing the Tailwaters he started giving slide shows to fly fishing clubs and all of a sudden was a struggling “professional” fly fisherman. Ed still thinks the point of fishing is to catch fish, but he enjoys everything about fly fishing-the water, the places to catch fish, the casts, flies, boats and the friends he’s made. And more than anything, he loves looking at fish, watching them swim, seeing what they do and how they act. And he likes sharing all of this with others through his books, magazine stories, PowerPoint presentations and classes.
Tom Knopick, with business partner John Flick, opened the Duranglers Fly Shop and Supplies in 1983, which at the time was the San Juan region’s first and only full service fly shop and guide service. Growing up in Kansas Tom had dreams of moving to Colorado and becoming a great fly fisherman. In 1974 he enrolled in a Pre Forestry program at Kansas State University and befriended John Flick and soon both of transferred to Colorado State University. Tom’s goals were to graduate in Forestry but also to become a fly fisherman. Under the mentorship of his friend John, an accomplished fly angler and fly tyer since age 6, Tom began fishing all over Colorado, starting on the waters of the Frying Pan River back in 1976. After graduation John and Tom went their separate ways only to reunite a few years later working for the same lumber company in northern New Mexico. Once again they were fishing any and all waters they could find including the San Juan River below Navajo Dam. In 1983, they decided to move to Durango Colorado and open Duranglers. Back then they tied every fly, built every rod they sold and began guiding all the great waters around Durango.
Tickets for the 2014 conclave are available now.
Please note: Lunch is included in the ticket price only with advance purchase.
Another Important Note: If you purchase tickets online please print your receipt and bring it with you to the conclave.
Children 15 years old and younger are admitted free. If you have youngsters that will be attending, please drop NM Trout an email indicating how many, so we can have enough lunches available.